


Complacency

by Quixotic_Pixie



Series: The Talon-likes-to-Brainwash AU [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Abandonment, Anger, Anxiety, Bad Science, Brainwashing, Canonical Character Death, Explosions, F/M, Fall of Overwatch, Jesse McCree (Mentioned), Kidnapping, Panic Attack, Past Relationship(s), Percieved Betrayal, Prequel to another fic, Presumed Death, Unhappiness, Unhealthy Relationships, Unrequited Love (Implied), Unrequited Love (non-implied :P), Wilful Ignorance, summer fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-15
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-15 06:36:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7211873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quixotic_Pixie/pseuds/Quixotic_Pixie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The signs were there, but no-one wanted to see them.</p><p>A story of Overwatch's fall, in which dark, insidious forces (or rather, force -singular - Talon) tear three people apart. Because some things are worse than death.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Anticipation

**Author's Note:**

> Prequel to Disease.

Angela tilted her head back, basking in the rays of the August sun with a smile. She'd been surprised when the Overwatch commander had ordered them all out of HQ for the day to take a break and enjoy the sun, but she hadn't realised how much she missed lazy days like these. A few of the team had decided pizza on the grass sounded like a great idea and so here she was with Reinhardt and Tracer on a park off Fronwaldstrasse, absently picking the peppers off a slice of pollo ad astra.

Tracer and Reinhardt were playing what seemed to be a makeshift game of football, though they were largely ignoring the spaces they'd designated as goals. Tracer was rapidly blinking around the much larger man with the ball sometimes in front of her feet, Reinhardt seeming quite confused as he tried to follow her movements.

"Why don't you join in, Mercy?" Reinhardt called over with a grin. "Kids these days, they're so fast."

"Hey!" Tracer protested as Reinhardt finally managed to tackle her to the ground and kick the ball away. "Girls versus boys?"

"Either way it would be unfair. Perhaps if there was an even number of us," Mercy replied before frowning. They all had the day off, and she'd imagine that would extend to all Overwatch... departments. "Has anyone seen Gabriel today?"

"He's with the commander. We were cleared out today because we weren't getting any work done with the ruckus they cause when they meet up, might as well catch the sun," Tracer replied brightly. Mercy froze, chills running up her spine and skin paling.

\- - -

_The door opened, and heavy footsteps fell behind her. She didn't take her gaze off the medical report she was checking. She wasn't reading the words any more, but it was a good excuse for not turning around while she steeled herself for the conversation. His hand gently touched her shoulder._

_"Angela? It's late, you should stop," he said, gruff tones softened with concern. It was - midnight had passed a while ago and she was carefully not looking at the clock, not wanting to know the time._

_She took a deep breath and turned in her swivel chair, staring up at him silently with her head tilted as she tried to work out how someone usually so gentle with her could possibly be hiding such an overpowering need for revenge. He frowned._

_"McCree came to see me today," Angela said finally, watching Gabriel's face. "Please..."_

_She stopped, still not knowing exactly where the sentence was going. Anger flashed across his face and was gone as soon as it appeared, leaving his expression blank again._

_"He shouldn't have been anywhere near here. Explains where he was today," Gabriel replied flippantly. Angela shot up out of her chair_

_"That's not the point and you know it. As you were wondering, he's left. He said he's done with Blackwatch, he said..." she started, but not wanting to finish that sentence. "I need... I need you to tell me he was making excuses. Tell me you haven't actually gone this far. Jack was your friend, and everyone else still is too if you'll just let people in."_

_Gabriel shook his head, conflicting emotions flitting across his face._

_"I don't know what he was talking about, come on, it's late and you're tired. Let's go home," he said, leaning over to kiss her cheek and turn off the computer screen._

_She caught his hand. "We do need to talk about this._

_"Things have been stressful lately, Jesse just needs some time to calm down. He'll be back," Gabriel said. "I will be saving words about storytelling for then though."_

_She dropped his hand and looked away from his hurt expression. She knew he'd been close to Jesse. She stood. Maybe this conversation could wait. "That's not what I meant. I was talking about you and Jack, but I guess I should get some sleep."_

_He took a few steps back and opened the door with a smile and a wink. "After you."_

_She hesitated again. "_

_Do you love me?" she asked._

_"Always," he replied. She nodded. Something was wrong; that wasn't his usual response._

\---

Things had been getting worse for months. He'd come back from an extended job with Blackwatch which had gone wrong in so many ways - what he'd assured her was supposed to be a quick reconnaissance had taken weeks and he'd been the only one of the small team to make it back alive, let alone uninjured. It had been touch and go whether he'd make it, but she worked until he pulled through. He never told anyone what had happened, but when he finally recovered he was more distant, and harsher, and his arguments with Jack had gotten so much more common.

She had hoped time would heal what she couldn't, but when Jesse had come to see her two weeks ago...

"Do you know when?" she asked, snapping out of her reverie.

"When what?" Tracer asked. Stopping her zipping about and getting tackled a second time. "Mercy!"

"When their meeting is. I've got a bad feeling about this," Angela replied. Reinhardt shrugged.

"No, just some point this afternoon. We can go back if you're really worried though I think you worry too much. They're loud because they're both competitive, but they've got a long history which is more important than titles, you know that," he said. Reinhardt, while not the commanding officer, still had a good deal of authority as one of the original six members and it wouldn't be questioned much if he brought them back into HQ.

Angela looked away. Her and Jesse may have had their differences, but he was an honest man. It was getting harder to pretend that he was wrong about Gabriel's plans.

"Bitte," she said, and Reinhardt nodded.

"Tracer, looks like we're heading back. You never know, maybe we'll find the others in our travels. More people for our game."

Tracer nodded, springing up and blinking to the car before turning around and dangling the car keys.

"Whatcha waiting for?"

\- - -

_Late summer nights on a balcony overlooking the Seine. They always came back to Paris once a year to remember old lost friends. Gabriel's arms were held tightly around her as they stared out over the city._

_"Do you love me?" she asked._

_"Today," he replied._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's not a reference to The Prestige :). It's a headcanon plot point which may come up at some point :P.


	2. Nothing to Lose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This didn't quite go where I expected it to go, but I hope it works :)

Gabriel walked along an empty corridor at the top of Overwatch's Swiss HQ. It didn't look like anything special; the sterile white floors, white walls and white ceiling intermittently punctuated by white doors - the same as every other corridor in the complex. It was odd how easy it was not to notice the barren decoration most of the time when the place was populated with agents and other Overwatch staff. The emptiness perhaps would have worried most people, but he knew Morrison would still be where they'd arranged to meet even if he'd cleared out the building.

Perhaps most people in his position would be wary. Morrison would be there, but having emptied the building Morrison would be aware of what was coming. Gabriel didn't care. He was more than prepared to die if it took Overwatch with him. He was expecting his death, he just wasn't sure why.

He reached the end of the corridor and pushed his way in. There was no point in knocking. Morrison would be ready for his arrival anyway and Gabriel had never been one for redundant niceties.

\- - -

The trip back wasn't as fast as Angela would have liked. Roadworks on Mühlackerstrasse had them sat still for a while, adding to her nerves. What if they were too late to stop... whatever was going to happen. Tracer looked back at her from the driver's seat, concerned for her.

"Keep your head up, Angie luv. Like Reinhardt said, everything's going to be okay. You'll see" she said. Angela hummed, unconvinced. She should have pushed harder. They hadn't had that conversation she'd promised two weeks ago. There never seemed to be a right time and she knew she wasn't ready for any answers she'd get. Any truthful ones at least.

"I don't know. He's been different for months. I lived in hope but..." she stopped. How could she finish that? How could she admit that she'd been told a friend was under threat and done nothing, said nothing? She wanted to help people but valuing someone over everyone else was putting so many people at risk.

Tracer continued to look at her, worried as she moved the car forwards a bit before the traffic stopped again. She then undid her seatbelt and blinked into the back of the car, wrapping an arm around Angela's shoulder and squeezing in a quick hug.

"We'll get there and everything will be fine, and we'll laugh about it, and see if we can rope them both in to coming back out with us, yeah?" Tracer said, smiling and blinking back into the front. She got her seatbelt on in time for the traffic to start moving again. Quicker now, past the temporary traffic lights.

\- - -

"Gabriel, take a seat. I'll make this quick, see if we can hit the sun while it's nice out," Morrison said with a smile as Gabriel barged his way into the commander's office. Gabriel snorted.

"Do we have time for such a leisure in this climate? There's work to do," Gabriel replied.

"You seem to be in a hurry, thought you might have had plans," Jack joked, leaning back in his chair, the picture of casual. Gabriel wasn't fooled. They'd known each other for a long time, long enough for Gabriel to know the slight body language cues which showed Jack was on edge.

"I don't. What was that about making this quick?" Gabriel asked. Jack sighed and got to the matter at hand.

"I had the bomb moved and altered, though I couldn't disarm it. Detonate it and you'll die, but I'm not sure I will," Jack said. Gabriel shrugged. That wasn't a problem.

"Good," he said.

Jack froze. Of all of the replies he'd been expecting, that wasn't one of them. Was he wrong about Gabriel's intentions? Perhaps he was bluffing. He stood up and grabbed his pulse rifle, pushing the barrel into Gabriel's face. Gabriel didn't even flinch. Jack lowered the gun.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm not the one pointing guns in a perfectly civil conversation. Is it show and tell? You can have an intimate view of my shotgun barrels if you want" Gabriel offered with a smirk.

"What do you _want_?" Jack rephrased. Gabriel hummed and Jack stifled the urge to facepalm.

"You know, I've always wanted a puppy. Right now though? Overwatch gone, buried and never coming back would be nice. I don't know if you noticed, but it brought out the worst in all of us. You probably didn't notice. Give a humble country boy enough fame to drown in and he gets too overwhelmed to notice the details," Gabriel said. He looked around the room pointedly. Most people's quarters had little personal knick-knacks in them - photos, posters, valued belongings - but Jack's was bare. "Have you done _anything_ in life except be a pretty little poster boy since your promotion?"

Jack ignored the question.

"You're planning on fixing the flaws you think Overwatch has by blowing yourself up?" he asked. "How does that work, exactly?"

"I might not be commander any more, but I'm still well known enough that me going a bit crazy and blowing the place up would attract attention. With the scrutiny Overwatch is already under it would probably tip the balance."

"To whose benefit? You don't benefit if you're dead." Jack said in disbelief. Gabriel started tapping the table, and Jack had known Gabriel long enough to know that tell too. It was frustration. Whatever Gabriel wanted he wasn't getting.

"Je veux la liberté," Gabriel said firmly, staring at Jack who was just more confused.

"Any reason for the French?" Jack asked.

"You're an idiot," Gabriel said. He unholstered his shotguns and pointed them at Jack, motioning with his head towards the door. "You've got about a minute before I shoot you, and maybe five before the bomb goes off."

Jack blinked. Well that went south rapidly. Gabriel didn't look like he was joking, in fact he almost looked desperate. Desperation was dangerous. Jack nodded and grabbed his gun and comms, leaving the room.

"Jack..." Gabriel said suddenly. Jack stopped. It was the first time Gabriel had used his name all conversation. He quirked an eyebrow questioningly.

"Don't get caught alive," he pleaded. "They'll do worse than kill you."

"Who?"

"Who what? 38 seconds until I shoot you," Gabriel reminded. Jack frowned, but threw open the door and started running.

\- - -

Their comms systems all started crackling at once.

"Urgent notice to all Overwatch agents in Zürich. There's a bomb in the facility detonating in four minutes. Do not return to HQ. I repeat do not return to HQ. Report to the Gibraltar watchpoint," Jack said.

Tracer braked sharply and turned the wheel, executing an illegal turn in the road before stopping the car on a verge. Angela panicked.

"He hasn't said if they're getting out alive," she said. Reinhardt let out a yell of frustration.

"I'm trying to open a connection, but it's getting blocked," he said. Tracer and Mercy both went for their earpieces, trying to connect to Jack.

"I can't..." Tracer started. Angela shook her head.

"Nor can I," she said. She released her seatbelt and opened the car door.

"You're not going back," Reinhardt said. Angela grimaced.

"I am. Heroes never die, not under my watch. Go, get out of here. I'll see you at Gibraltar," she said.

"We need to stop the traffic towards the HQ. Reinhardt, stop it here, I'll cover one of the other roads," Tracer said, getting out of the car. It would be easier to blink over. She nodded to the now empty driver's seat. "Mercy... good luck."

"This is insane. You can't go back," Reinhardt said as Mercy got into the driver's seat.

"I can. Get out or I'm taking you with me, and Lena's right. You need to stop people getting near HQ." Reinhardt grumbled and got out of the car.

"You're disobeying your commander. You could get sanctioned for this at the very least," he reminded.

"At least he'd be alive to do so," she replied, before turning the car back around and driving off.

\- - -

Gabriel took the time to head back to his room. He knew he couldn't leave. Every time he'd considered leaving a phantom pain in his head drove him to his knees. At least he'd thwarted her orders enough to save someone. Hopefully.

He opened his door and pulled out a key, heading to a locked drawer in his desk. The explosion should deal with what was in here, but in case it didn't...

He unlocked the drawer, sliding it open and taking out a lighter. Taking one last hopeless look at the pictures of him and a girl he knew before he joined Overwatch, he set them alight. How he left her might have been terrible, but _they_ didn't know about her and now they never would. Another life saved.

\- - -

She didn't make it.

The world in front of her seemed to erupt, the blue sky turning to oranges and reds and blacks, and a cacophonous boom sounding in her ears.

She kept driving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: next chapter is totally no longer the last one. Oops.
> 
> Still hope you're enjoying the story :)


	3. Demolition Lovers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time, no see, don't worry, we're still going (maybe that's worrying actually...).
> 
> Featured in this chapter: A Deus ex Machina in the form of a basement. Whoop! You've been warned, it's a bit of an ass pull, I'm sorry. "He" was going to pop up next to Mercy in a puff of smoke all "a wizard did it", but the basement decided to be a thing so you get a whole bit about that instead :P (you missed Mercy beating some people up. Decided I couldn't be that OOC, so we get weepy Mercy instead).
> 
> After realising I couldn't get the story finished this chapter, I was going to make this kinda filler-y and get back to the main story for next time, but it ended up being (I think) the longest chapter so far O.o
> 
> Enjoy! (I hope)

No matter what airs he'd put on, Gabriel had always been afraid of death. He always thought he had too much to lose to die. Yet like the cliche, he'd learnt there were worse things than death and as the building crumbled he felt oddly calm. Talon had no further use for him, and if they did there wasn't much more they could do to him if he was dead. His only regret now was that he couldn't take them down.

Talon's brutal mind control technology had stopped him from doing anything to expose them or hurt them, but at least he'd hopefully saved Jack - and Jesse, ever attentive, had saved everyone else who might have been in the building by reporting him. It was probably him at least. Jesse had told Angela, and Gabriel doubted it was her, overly trusting and optimistic as she was.

Damn, what he'd do for a canister of spray paint right now. Maybe he could have written out some sort of... confession before he was crushed now Talon's directive had been fulfilled and he was free.

Oh well.

\- - -

Somehow, despite how fast she'd been, a small contingent of armed forces had gotten to the rubble before her and were blocking the entrance. She got out, fishing her Overwatch ID out of her pocket as she was approached.

"Miss, this area's restricted, you can't stay here," one of the soldiers said. She tried to pass over her ID and the soldier shook his head. "We've been ordered to let no-one past, not even Overwatch."

She was ready to just shove past, she could save Gabriel and Jack. She knew she could, but she didn't have much time, but the cowed look on the soldier's face made her pause.

"Doctor, despite the UN negotiations, most of us still have nothing but respect for Overwatch. I know you wouldn't be here if you thought there was no hope at all, but there isn't. No-one could survive that, not even from the super soldier program. I should know the limitations of that," he said quietly, showing off a small sign on his uniform which marked him as coming from the program. She knew who this was; only three people had made it out of that program, two of them Gabriel and Jack. The soldier sighed. "But there are eight other people between here and the main entrance. Drive off, lose the car, and try the back. There's just two patrols covering the whole fence."

She nodded. It would lose her even more time she desperately needed, but she wasn't going to get through here alone.

"Thank-you," she said, heading back to the car. Frustrating as it was that he couldn't get her through, at least he'd told her where she could. She started the car and kept glancing at the rear view mirror as she drove, waiting until she'd be out of sight to veer off of the road and carry on driving around the complex.

She only drove far enough to still be a fair way out of sight of anyone guarding the entrance and drove back up to the fence, getting out the car and climbing the fence. As she dropped from the fence there was a yell. She turned towards the sound, worried as the gun shots started, to see a familiar face barrelling into the patrol

\- - -

He hadn't gotten out before the building crumbled, but he hadn't really been expecting to. He'd headed to the basement, which was specifically built for building breeches. He was lucky Gabriel had picked this building to blow up and not the countless other Overwatch buildings, many of which had been built with speed rather than safety in mind. Still, getting out of the basement again had been difficult. He hadn't paid enough attention to the plans to figure out where the escape route was.

He flicked on the night visor function of his visor, glad for it as he looked up to note the lack of lights, and started walking around the basement. Big building, big basement still inexplicably full of rooms and tech, and no signage pointing to the exit. He'd never have time to fix that now - the UN would use this incident as the fuse to shut down Overwatch like they'd been threatening to for months - but it was something to remember if he ever found himself accidentally in charge of a giant peace-keeping force again.

He wondered where he'd put the exit if he was building something like this, but then again, he'd also include lights attached to a backup generator. Torches by the entrances too. Still, worth a try. He'd go with near the back. That would seemingly lead into a giant lake, but maybe tunnelling out the exit to near the lake would have worked?

First, supplies, before the place got turned over by scavengers. He knew where they'd dumped their spare supplies given the excess of rooms down here. A couple of rooms onwards there should be health supplies and food rations. He still had his pulse rifle, but he'd grab extra ammo too.

He got to the room with the med packs and was glad to see a few of the bags they'd carted the stuff down in had been abandoned, he grabbed one to find it still full and rifled through it, removing two thirds of the medical supplies to give him space for food and ammo. He grabbed the food and was about to leave when he noticed a suit in the corner. An old version of Mercy's valkyrie suit. He'd wondered what she did with that. Impractical to take, even if it would be better to keep it out of other people's hands. He moved on into the next room.

Boxes of every type of ammunition they could think of, weapons dumped on the floor, mechanical parts and plans... maybe...

He spread the loose papers out across the floor. Schematics, more schematics, pages of doodles... aha. Building plans, to all of Overwatch's buildings. He found the HQ's before shoving the rest in his rucksack and throwing it over his shoulder. To the exit.

He was glad he'd found the plans. The exit was in a stupid place. The escape tunnel would come out near the entrance, which would be no good if the place was hijacked. Too obvious. Not that it mattered now. He headed on, found the hallway out and punched in the exit code at the overhead door. He'd had the codes changed to a date he could remember long ago, not that he'd explain the significance to anyone. Of course some people had known, but... no. He had to get out. He opened the door and heaved his way out. Hopefully the entrance would be clear.

That hope was grounded with a yell, and in response to the guns pointed at him he raised his arms in a hope they would shoot someone clearly not about to attack. Nope. Shots came flying towards him as he dove to the left, readying his pulse rifle as he went. A tap to his visor locked on to the gunmen and he shot, counting the shots until he'd need to reload. Crap. He'd forgotten the ammo.

Old fashioned way. He ran at the last gunman standing and barrelled into him, taking advantage of the man's surprise to use his rifle as a bludgeon. Knocked out. He wasn't shooting to kill, just incapacitate. He had no idea who these people were.

"Jack?" a voice called. He looked over.

"Angela?" he asked, confused.

"You made it," she said, relieved, running over. "Are you okay? How did you make it out?"  
  
"I'm fine, I made it to the basement. It's got an entrance right there." He pointed over. "Didn't I tell you not to come back?"

"You did, but I thought I could stop... is Gabe okay?" she asked. The words fuelled a rage he didn't know he was holding down, and he raised the rifle again.

"What did you know?" he demanded as she took a wary step back.

"I... nothing. He was acting strange, I was worried," she choked out, staring at the gun. It wasn't technically a lie, and she didn't want to do anything to make him shoot her. She didn't want to die, and she was terrified of guns.

"You were closer to him than any of us. You were the only one close to him by the end. What. Did. You. Know?" Jack demanded, stepping closer to her, still raising the gun.

"Nothing! He wouldn't talk to me about it at all!" she yelled.

"He said to me not to let "them" catch me, who are "they"?" he asked.

"I don't..." she stopped, feeling her eyes water and tears start dropping as she kept staring at the gun. There was a choking noise and a thud as the rifle fell to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm just..." Jack kicked the rifle away, looking back up at her pleadingly. "I'd never hurt you," he said. She nodded shakily.

"He's dead isn't he?" she asked quietly. Jack nodded. The tears, which had stopped, came back, falling. She couldn't raise her hands to wipe her face, numb. Losing more people, losing someone that close. She understood now why Gabriel was the way he was.

\- - -

_A knock on the door roused Gabriel from his guilt-filled thoughts. He got up, heading to the door and opening it slightly to find the doctor, ruffled and concerned._

_"Doc?" he asked. "What's up?"_

_She lightly pushed on the door, opening it further and then stopped, looking down at some papers in her hands and biting her lip._

_"Commander Reyes, I..."_  
  
_"Gabriel" he interjected. He wasn't her commander, and he hated titles anyway._

_"Gabriel... I was updating some of the files and... the press thinks you're dead," she said quickly, words tumbling out of her mouth like if she didn't say it now she never would. He smiled ruefully, gazing off._

_"I know. I faked my death after Gérard... if was safer that way. For the people around me. I don't want them to become the target he let Amelie be. I told him involving her so publicly would bite him in the ass. I've never wished I was more wrong." He looked straight up at her. "This isn't a line of work for attachments. They only get used."_

_"That's a lonely life to lead," she said. He shrugged._

_"I've got friends. Maybe some day I'll find someone who I won't put in any risk by being with. Or maybe I don't. Camila is an amazing woman, I don't think I'll forget her. But I got more out of life than anyone expected me to and if I get to save the world maybe it will be worth it," he said._

_"Maybe?" she asked. Gabriel snorted._

_"Sometimes I wonder. Anyway, anything else bring you here?" he asked._

_"No, I..." she hesitated, and he almost shut the door and went back to doing nothing before he noticed her looking down at her fidgeting foot. "You don't have to answer, I'm sorry, I shouldn't ask. Camilla?"_

_He looked away and sighed. "You know, you've got one hell of a trustworthy... aura. Maybe one day, but I've already said more than I should. Not even Jack knows about her. So..."_

_She nodded. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked, I'll head back to the medical bay," she said, closing the door. His hand stopped her._

_"It's okay, nothing wrong with asking. Just glad I aint the cat curiosity's killing today. I'll see you at dinner. Jack wants to meet the new Blackwatch members; thinks I'm crazy for taking that kid from the Deadlock gang but he's a damn good shot and not a... bad kid. Anyway, don't sweat it, but keep that between us," he said with a gesture to the papers. "Jack would disapprove, and I'll be called in for another chat I don't want or need."_

\- - -

Jack had pulled her out of sight as she cried, and was staring at her as she looked up. She made a feeble attempt to wipe her face.

"I know it's stupid, but I'm going to get his body. I'll see you in Gibraltar?" she said, standing up.

"I'm not going to Gibraltar, Angela. I just... there are members of Overwatch who will be safe there if they can lie low while the UN shuts the place off," he said. She looked at him, confused. "The UN is going to shut us down for this. I haven't said, but they've been investigating us for months because of what was leaked about Blackwatch. This is the trigger they've been waiting for."

He sighed and looked away.

"What are you going to do?" she asked. He shrugged, but looked back up at her again.

"I don't know, but... come with me?" he asked hopefully. "You could get a job anywhere in the world, we could go wherever you want."

She shook her head. "I need to get Gabriel. Whatever happened he deserves more than to be left in that wreckage," she said, considering her next words carefully. "I still love him, you know that, right?"

"You say that like he doesn't love you," Jack said, confused. She gave a pained smile.  
  
"Not today. Not for a while," she said. "I'm still going back for him. Maybe one day I'll see you, but I wont go with you."

"I thought you'd refuse, but I hoped... you've still got an old Valkyrie suit in the basement. Entrance is just behind me. Pick it up before you go. Don't want someone else using it. Take anything else you can carry and get it to the right people. Please?" he said.  
  
"I'll try. What's the code?" she asked. He shook his head sadly.  
  
"You know," he said, as he walked away. "See you one day."

He stopped, and turned back, looking confused.

"Why would Gabriel speak French? I didn't know he could speak it." Angela frowned.

"We used to go to France with Gérard and Amelie when we had time off. It was needed. I don't know why he'd... when was this?"

"When... oh." Jack stopped speaking, looking shocked. "You're right, he deserves more than that wreckage. But promise me you'll lie low afterwards, don't draw attention to yourself. I don't want to lose you." He ran to the fence and climbed it, leaving Angela to nod, confused.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pssst. It will never come up as the next chapter will start far away from the ruins of the base, but...
> 
> ...the passcode is the date Mercy joined Overwatch.
> 
> See you next time?


	4. Across the Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Love made villains out of all of us.
> 
> The last chapter of Complacency.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where do I even start? Well this has been a journey I guess. I had the vague idea in my head and started writing. It was going to be three chapters, and by partway through chapter three I realised that wasn't going to happen. I then assumed it would be five - chapter 4 covering Mercy in the hospital and chapter 5 covering Gabriel's reaction. That didn't happen either, admittedly due to the fact I know nothing about nanobiology. So here we are, somewhat abruptly I guess - but still the longest chapter - at the end of Complacency.
> 
> I apologise for all of the inadequacies in this chapter more so than the others. I know nothing about *takes breath*: hospitals*, doctors*, nanobiology, relationships*, theatres*, ballet, or windows*.
> 
> *Don't get me wrong, I have encountered/experienced all of these things, I just don't get the details.
> 
> Aaaanyways. On we go!

Mercy was desperate. Bursting in through the doors of the hospital where she used to be head of surgery with what was left of Gabriel's body, the staff looked alarmed but didn't stop her when she commandeered her old office. She'd paid generously when she'd left to keep it in her use only, and what the staff didn't know was that she'd kept a large supply of medical tech - both approved and experimental - hidden in there in case of emergency.

Thirty-two minutes. That was how long it had taken her to get to the HQ, retrieve her old suit, find Gabriel and get out. Fourteen minutes: how long it took to fly from the remains of HQ to the hospital. They'd been in the hospital for twenty three minutes now. There was an insistent banging on the door of the office and her phone would not stop ringing. An anger she'd never felt before, amplified by her frustration, boiled over as she grabbed to offending phone and threw it at the door. How was she supposed to save his life with all of this noise?

She'd tried everything which was legitimately approved, she should have known it wouldn't work - he'd been dead for over an hour now, and medicine had never brought the dead back. She'd done it once before, but Torbjorn wasn't here to help her like he'd helped her with Genji. It was a crude way to do it anyway. She could do better, if only she had more time. She didn't. She was no Lena Oxton.

Going back to one of the secret compartments she'd hastily pulled out, she saw a small metal case she'd forgotten about. It was full of tiny tubes of solution full of altered nanobots. She'd put them here only a few weeks ago hoping to have them closer to home for when she got the small lab she'd been putting in the attic finished. Her work with Overwatch left her with little time for her research, and she'd been meaning to work on it during the time she was forcibly sent home - to "sleep, eat, y'know, those normal things people have to do". She didn't need it, but as open-minded as her superiors had been, she didn't think they'd be too happy about the extent her testing on herself had gotten.

She opened the box, glad to see the nanobots had stayed dormant. They were a prototype. Incredibly volatile, made for breaking cells down and reforming them correctly but she hadn't gotten the charge correct. There was no telling how long they'd keep breaking down and reforming cells, even when the repairs were finished. She looked from the tubed nanobot solution to what was left of Gabriel and pulled out a syringe. She didn't have to time to work on these more right now.

She uncapped one of the tubes and pushed the syringe in through the foil cover, removing the solution before pricking the body on the table with the syringe and injecting. She threw the tube and the syringe into the medical waste chute and stepped back. Now it was just a waiting game.

 

\- - -

 

_She opened her eyes, taking in the familiar white surroundings. Overwatch's medical bay, though she'd never seen it from this angle before. She glanced around, and froze when her eyes hit the sight of Gabriel. He was focused intently on the medical screen next to the bed she was in, and hadn't noticed her moving. Was that... his eyes looked red, like he'd been crying. It must have been a trick of the light. She'd been with him through so many terrible situations and he'd never cried. Ever._

_"Gabe?" she asked, throat croaking like it hadn't been used for a while. Why was she in a bed in the medical bay? He jolted, head whipping to the side to look at her and his eyes widened._

_"Angie?" he asked, disbelieving. He got out of the chair which had been pulled over to the monitor and stepped closer to the bed before stopping, like he wasn't sure what to do. She nodded slowly, why was he acting like this?_

_"Are you okay?" she asked. He gaped. Another thing she'd never seen._

_"I think I've gone insane. You died. You..." he looked back at the screen "your vitals are saying you're still dead. I don't... it should have been me." Oh. She remembered now. Not hearing the retreat Jack had called on their last mission - a joint Overwatch and Blackwatch campaign in Volskaya - and flying over to Gabriel as he retreated, which put her in front of him as he was being shot at. She'd always been so careful. Now to try to explain away her very missing pulse._

_"Gabriel. I'm okay. The machine must be malfunctioning. It's fine. And don't say it should have been you. I may be anti-war, but I'm used to working in them. I signed up for this as much as you do and we both knew what we were getting into. And I'd fly into more bullets if it saves people, you know that." She swung her legs off the bed and stood up. "I'm hungry, I'm getting food and letting people know I'm okay and then going to bed. I'm awake but I'm still tired."_

_He didn't respond, still comprehending what she'd said on however little sleep he'd had. She walked around the bed, and didn't hesitate before kissing his cheek._

_"Thank-you for caring," she said quickly. "Make sure you get some sleep too, I'm sorry for worrying you."_

_With that she turned and walked towards the door. She'd deal with repercussions later. The kiss wasn't appropriate, but she was grateful for what he'd done and she'd known for a while she'd fallen in love with the man even if he'd never return it._

_"Angie!" he called after her. She kept walking, though stopped when she heard him running after her. He took her hand gently and she turned. "You're putting yourself in danger for us, willingly?"_

_She frowned. Of course she was. She'd been doing it for the past few years now. The quicker she could get to her team the faster she could heal them, and that meant going on to the battlefield with them. He knew she'd been there. She nodded, not sure why he was asking._

_She was unprepared for him sliding his hands around her hips and pulling her closer for a kiss. She froze in shock and he pulled away, concerned._

_"I'm sorry, I should have a-"_

_"No, I wanted you to, but I thought..."_

_"I'm not putting you in any danger. Not any danger you're not already throwing yourself into. This is different. I can care without risking you, and I do," he said, looking at her hopefully._

_"I love you, Gabe. I have for a while. I know you cared, we've been friends for months, but this isn't the same as what I need. And I'd rather we were friends and you cared, than be more and one day you not caring at all," she said. Eyes beginning to water as she turned away. She hadn't meant to say that, she'd never thought she'd say a word. She didn't want to taint their friendship._

_"I didn't mean it like that. I care about you and that wont change, that's why I wont stay if I put you at risk. Today I'm not, and today it's okay for me to admit that I more than_ just _care," he said. She turned back around, confused._

_"So you love me today?" she asked, eyebrows raised._

_"Today, and probably tomorrow, and likely as long as you stay," he said. She smiled. It was more than she'd been hoping for, and she wasn't planning on leaving Overwatch any time soon. She threaded and arm through his and pulled him towards the door._

_"Food?"_

_"Definitely, I'm starving."_

 

\- - -

 

The vitals on the monitor were going insane. She'd never seen anything like it. She'd been terrified to watch his body in case it didn't work, but she looked down now. His body was fine. Had completely reformed. There were extra scars and superficial burns, but he was somehow whole and alive. It had worked. She collapsed on the floor, relieved and amazed. She'd done it. Everything was going to be okay. Looking up at the monitors showed his vitals beginning to normalise too. So long as they didn't keep dropping Gabriel would be fine.

They didn't stop dropping. The body on the table started to break down again, the air filling with an inky smoke. Her chest tightened and she couldn't breathe. Things weren't okay. She was hoping the nanobots only had enough power to break down his body and rebuild it. That wasn't the case. His body was breaking down past the state it had been in after the explosion, the smoke continuing to slowly fill the room. The odour of blood, iron and decay stronger than it was before. There wouldn't even be a body to bury if he didn't reform again. What had she done?

As quickly as it the body had broken down the smoke condensed, forming a body. The body lurched and the mouth opened and Gabriel started screaming. She panicked, skittering back on the floor and curling in on herself. Grabbing her knees and just rocking. She had no idea what to do. The pain must have been beyond anything he'd experienced before, being ripped apart and thrown back together again. Anaesthetics wouldn't stay in his system if he was evaporating into smoke again, which he was.

She couldn't look, couldn't collect herself from the shaking wreck she was on the floor. She didn't need to however, the smell changed between states, and while the body was dispersed into smoke she could feel it pressing down on her. Her stomach twisted as nausea rose. She didn't know when the nanobots would stop, and she couldn't stop them.

But.

She remembered a conversation she'd had with an old colleague a year ago at a nanobiology conference. His team had been working on kill switches. Maybe there was a chance she could reach for help. It was a strange thought. She'd been pulled into Overwatch so long ago and mostly worked alone for so long. It had made her forget there were things she couldn't do which other people could.

She put her hands on the floor, taking slow, shaky breaths as she tried to abate the panic. Everything would be okay. Everything would be okay. Everything would be...

 

\- - -

 

_She pulled into the car park of the theatre, sending a bright smile to her companion who was nervously drumming her fingers on her knees. It was a big night for her friend tonight; it wasn't surprising her normally cheery demeanour was overshadowed. She put a hand over her companion's, stopping the drumming and squeezing a little in reassurance._

_"It'll be okay. You've been practising this months, and you know you can do this. Nothing should be bringing you down tonight," Angela said._

_"And if I do make a mistake? Not even just in front of the rest of the cast but in front of almost a thousand people?"Amélie asked quietly._

_"You wont. And if you do, you know what Lena would say," Angela said slightly teasingly. "You know, she'll be there tonight. She's part of Gerárd's guard detail." Amélie giggled._

_"Keep calm and Tracer on?" She shook her head. "I'm no Lena Oxton."_

_"Right now that's a good thing. Lena definitely can't dance," Angela said. Amélie grinned._

_"Definitely not. I've tried, but... she's not the most graceful person I've ever met..." Amélie took off her seatbelt, reaching into the back to grab her bag. "Okay, let's go."_

_They got out of the car and Angela was happy to see that Amélie's spark was back as she skipped towards the theatre, gazing up at the sign for Swan Lake which had her name front and centre. Angela jogged after her friend as Amélie entered Théâtre Mogador, joining her as she entered through into the backstage to the busy bustle of ballerinas getting ready for the night's performance._

_Gerárd was worried about Amélie, and had asked Angela to stay with her until he got there. Angela had agreed, even though if Talon had decided to switch targets like Gabriel and Gerárd feared she wouldn't be much help. Jack had argued for placing a permanent guard on Amélie, yet the request had been denied. Angela had put in for one of her rare days of leave. Amélie's name so publicly out would only attract the wrong sort of people._

_Angela took a seat she was offered in the corner and took her laptop out of Amélie's bag, finishing some reports she had left to write up but keeping an eye on the door as she did so while Amélie got changed. Amélie came back to get the white pointe shoes she'd put in her bag earlier and rolled her eyes on seeing Angela still working. Angela stayed through the final dress rehearsal, stopping her work to watch. So mesmerised, she almost missed the vibration of her phone as she got a message. She looked down. It was late, and Gerárd and Reinhardt were waiting in the queue outside with Lena by the back door to keep watch. Angela looked up, and caught Amélie's eyes as they came back for another rest before the performance and smiled, holding up her phone and mouthing "break a leg" before slipping out the side door._

_She headed back through to the theatre to get into her seat all the way on the top balcony early. Opening night of Swan Lake, with her good friend playing Odette and Odile. Amélie had wanted this forever and Angela was ecstatic for her. The theatre began to fill, and Angela waved at Gerárd and Reinhardt as they sat down. It wasn't long before the show started when Lena popped into the theatre and joined them, sitting down for the show._

_The curtain raised and Angela was lost in the show. Almost too soon the curtain fell, but it wasn't long before the next act began. Lena fidgeted happily as she saw Amélie, and Angela looked over to see the proud grin on Gerárd's face._

_It wouldn't last. The time seemed to go so fast as the act came and went, the curtains closing once more, before time seemed to stop when there was commotion from the front. They got out of their seats, hearing muffled screams before muffled gunshots sent the whole audience into a panic. The four of them dashed through the crowd, onto the stage and into the back, and she franticly looked for Amélie._

_"They took her," one of the performers said, shaking and eyes flooded with tears._

_"Talon," Gerárd growled._

 

\- - -

 

She'd reached her laptop and was desperately searching through her contacts when there was a growl behind her. She turned, eyes wide.

"Gabe?" she asked. She looked at him, flinching when she saw the rage and agony gouged into his face before he threw himself at her and knocked her into the wall next to her desk. His hand came up to grab her throat and squeeze as she flailed.

"What did you do?" he demanded, squeezing a little harder. She tried to say something, but the grip on her throat was making it impossible to force anything out. "I was supposed to die, Angela. The second they know I'm alive they'll take me back again, and they'll force me to do anything they want. Haven't you let them have enough of your friends?"

She froze. Somehow that hurt more than the crushing of her windpipe. He'd never blamed her for Amélie's kidnapping, ever. And for him to say she'd cause Talon to come after Gabriel too...

"There's no protection detail for me. There never was because I was just another one of Blackwatch and they said we didn't need it, and now there never will be because Overwatch is dead. We're not coming back from this. Where's your gun?"

She shook her head. It had been left in her office when Reinhardt, Lena and her had left that day. They'd given her a pistol, taught her to use it, but that didn't mean she ever had or ever wanted to and now it was gone.

"Well you better have some way of putting me down," he growled, fury flashing ever brighter in his eyes as the hand around her throat broke down and she gulped down air.

"I'm not going to kill you," she forced out, throat still burning.

" _Do I look like I'm alive to you!?_ " he yelled.

"We can fix this," she tried.

"Do you even know how?" he asked, gesturing to her laptop as his hand started to come back. "I know what that is. You're calling for help. Like you had to with the Shimada boy because you were trying to do something you had no idea how to do. How long is that going to take? Because I can tell you, you've got maybe an hour."

"I don't know," she said, back slipping down the wall as she slumped, exhausted.

"For a medical genius you're one of the most idiotic people I've ever met," he spat. He toppled as one of his legs disappeared into smoke, falling onto the floor with a yelp.

"You saw what I did last time, and who knows what I'll do now. I may have destroyed Overwatch, but you're the one who made sure we needed them more than ever when there's no rising from the dead for them." He pointed at her. "Every death. Everyone they make me kill will be on your hands. You could have stopped this if you'd just stopped."

"I needed you," she said weakly.

"I needed you when they took me and you didn't notice. I don't need you now," he said plainly. "I should kill you, but as they don't want you I'm going to make you watch. Talon have plans, and those plans don't stop with me. Get to Gibraltar. You'll tell everyone to scatter if you want to save anyone at all."

With that he looked from her to the window, and ran, diving out of it into the street.

Mercy shook her head from where she was sitting. It wasn't going to be the long drop he wanted.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That Amelie scene was not in my mental draft. I do not know where it came from...
> 
> Anyway! Thank-you so much for reading, it really is appreciated! I hope you enjoyed the fic, and comments are welcome.
> 
> Until the next fic! (If you join me :P)


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